Walking With Courage (1-Shot)
by RecursiveDestroyer
Summary: Yuugi has an awful day at school because of his lack of self-confidence. Yami intends to fix that. Puzzleshipping.


Yuugi had never been the most confident person and numerous factors went into this fact. From a young age, he had been ridiculed at school for his odd star-shaped, multi-colored hair and extraordinarily short height. He favored leather clothing which was considered strange and never wore the high-end, _very_ expensive shoes his classmates often showed off. What's more is that he saw monster spirits, Duel Monster spirits to be exact, and he learned quickly to not speak to any of them if he didn't want to be called 'ghost boy' by the other students.

Now, usually school was pretty chill since most high-schoolers left anyone who wasn't in their social group alone but that particular day just had to be different. Ushio had trapped him in one of the stairwells before his third class of the day and had given him a harsh beating. His torso hurt from where he'd been kicked numerous times, and his head was pounding from a splitting headache he had. Did he forget to mention that he was also continuously teased because he was so weak?

A wheezy sigh escaped his lips as he approached the bridge that would lead to the street he lived on. The Millennium Puzzle that hung around his neck gleamed as Yami materialized beside him. Yuugi felt the spirit's presence in his mind and knew that he wouldn't be able to hide his thoughts from him.

"You know what would solve your problem, Yuugi?" Yami asked again. Every time Yuugi got bullied or doubted himself, Yami would ask him the exact same question.

"Becoming more confident in myself?" Yuugi replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He had lost count of how many times he had ever said that to answer Yami's question.

"Exactly," Yami said with a nod of his head in agreement. "Confidence is key. Everything else will fall into place afterward like-"

"A puzzle," Yuugi finished for him. "I know, Yami. You've only said it a thousand times!"

"It's only been three hundred and forty-two times, Yuugi," Yami replied with a perfect deadpan. Yuugi only groaned and threw his hands up in the air, defeated.

"For the thousandth time, Yami! I'll never be confident in myself!" Yuugi snapped harshly. Yami fell silent at Yuugi's outburst, and he felt a rush of sorrow go through Yuugi. He was wallowing in self-pity and Yami could only remain uneasily quiet. He was immersed in his own thoughts and he tried yet again to figure out how he could make Yuugi more confident. He hated seeing Yuugi being teased and beaten.

They were about to begin the long walk across the bridge when an idea suddenly popped into Yami's mind. _That's perfect!_ Yami thought excitedly. He turned his attention back to Yuugi who was still brooding. A simple competition would grab the boy's interest, no doubt. "I bet you can't walk along the edge of the bridge without falling," Yami said suddenly. It would be a rather dangerous feat but Yami figured he could always take control of Yuugi's body if something went wrong.

Yuugi's attention was on him immediately. "I bet I can!" was his instant reply and Yami thanked Ra that Yuugi bought into it so easily. He felt a little guilty about using Yuugi's naivety against him, but it was sometimes necessary. Yuugi leaped onto the foot wide slab of concrete that marked the edge of the two-lane bridge. His arms were out to either side of him to help him keep his balance.

"Good job, Yuugi," Yami praised from beside him. He floated harmlessly to the left side of Yuugi above a thirty-foot drop to a steady flowing river below. "I knew you could do it."

Yuugi stopped suddenly in the middle of the bridge. He stared at Yami, realizing what the spirit had been doing. His competitive smile turned into an irritated look. "You challenged me to this on purpose didn't you?" he accused and the sheepish look that passed over Yami's face only clarified it. He groaned and was about to get off when a blast of wind caught him off balance.

Panic shot through him as he wobbled on his one foot. He felt the worry and concern go through Yami as well and knew he was about to forcibly take over his body. He felt bad that he had made Yami worry all those three hundred or so times. He was leaning more towards the river and with the last of his hardly existent abdominal strength, he managed to right himself. The gust of wind then stopped just as suddenly as it had started.

"Are you alright, Yuugi?" Yami asked beside him in concern. His hands hovered over Yuugi's shoulder and chest as if he could stabilize the boy. "I'm sorry I tricked you into doing this. I would never wish for you to come to harm."

"I know, Yami," Yuugi said consolingly. He placed a small hand on Yami's ghostly cheek and smiled softly. His forgiving nature would always allow him to easily forgive anyone for doing wrong to him. Yami was certainly no exception. His smile faded as a new thought entered his mind. "I'm sorry for making you worry so much about me."

Yami chuckled and ran a hand through Yuugi's soft strands of hair. "I'll always worry about you, Yuugi. I'm just glad you're alright." Yuugi smiled brightly at that and Yami couldn't help but return it.

"Want to continue your little challenge?" Yuugi asked innocently.

"Of course," Yami replied smoothly and with another laugh. "I _am_ going to win."

"Not if I can help it!" Yuugi replied back enthusiastically before taking off down the concrete slab towards the other end of the bridge.

 _In the end, I guess my plan did work,_ Yami thought as he trailed closely behind Yuugi. _He's walking with more courage than he ever has, and he's having fun too._


End file.
